Hennessy Brake Grinder Asbestos Lawsuit Reinstated in Delaware

The widow of an auto-repair worker can rely on circumstantial evidence to show that brake shoes used on a Hennessy Industries LLC grinder contained asbestos, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled.

Hennessy had argued the brake shoes might have been made without asbestos.

The trial court used the correct procedural mechanism when it shifted the burden of proof to the widow, Shelley Droz, Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. said Monday for the state’s high court. But erred when it didn’t recognize her proof as adequate and granted Hennessy’s request for summary judgment, he said.

Droz alleges her husband, Eric C. ...